Tony La Russa Retires

Tony La Russa is retiring after 33 seasons as a manager, and he's going out on top. He told reporters his decision today at a press conference, three days after his Cardinals won the World Series. La Russa captured three World Championships in his career and won Manager of the Year four times. He managed the White Sox, Athletics, and Cardinals in a career that began in 1979. Prior to that, La Russa played six seasons in the Majors as a middle infielder.

If it wasn’t for Colby, the Cards wouldn’t have gotten the players to
win it this year. He deserves a ring because of that, even though he
wasn’t there in the post-season. Probably not something he’ll be too proud of though.

I would think that ANY ballplayer would rather win on the bench than from another team. Do you really think that Colby Rasmus jumped around his living room like Adron Chambers jumped around the field at Busch Stadium? If he did, he is truly the loser that I believe him to be.

I’m not sure what you mean… i just meant that being part of a championship team as a 24 year old and not playing, knowing your manager doesn’t like you and not really feeling a part of the team, I dont see how that would have been so wonderful for Colby to experience.

This is actually the one thing that pretty definitively won’t happen. When a manager earns the right to manage the All-Star Game, and for whatever reason cannot represent the team with which he reached the World Series, the league has sometimes permitted them to manage representing their new team, and sometimes selected the next in line to have managed in the World Series, but they have never once permitted the new manager of the team that won to manage in the All-Star Game.

Wikipedia has a list of some unusual circumstances, and how they were handled. The right to manage the All-Star team goes to the manager, not the team, so (for example) when Dusty Baker managed the Giants to the World Series, and then went to the Cubs, Baker still managed the NL. Similarly, when Dick Williams resigned from the A’s in 73, and became Angels manager for ’74, he managed the AL.

In 1979, Bob Lemon managed the AL team after being fired from the Yankees in the offseason, but in 1982, when Lemon was again fired (midseason), Billy Martin, manager of the AL runner-up A’s, managed the team.

After 1964, both managers left their teams and went to the opposite league. Johnny Keane left the Cardinals to manage the Yankees, Yogi Berra left the Yankees to manage the Mets. Rather than manage either the league they left or the one they joined, MLB chose the managers of the second-place teams, Al Lopez of the White Sox and Gene Mauch of the Phillies (who actually were tied with the Reds, but the Reds’ manager in 1964, Fred Hutchinson, had died in the off-season, so they selected Mauch without any further discussion.)

Also, in the first All-Star game, before it was expected to be an annual thing, they chose not the previous WS winners, but the two men regarded as the most venerable managers in the game: Connie Mack and John McGraw, who actually came out of retirement to manage that game.

All this is by way of saying that it’s up to MLB, and then Tony LaRussa. If they’re willing, and he’s interested, LaRussa may be permitted to come out of retirement on a one-game only basis, and manage the All-Star Team. If they do not permit it, or LaRussa is disinclined to do so, Ron Roenicke will likely manage the team in LaRussa’s stead.

I have to think that they won’t let that happen. If they let a retired guy with no vesting interest manage the NL team with home field advantage in the World Series on the line, the all-star game will become even more of a joke than it already is.

I rather hope not. I realize Oquendo is a fan favorite from the late 80’s, but I don’t agree with a lot of his decisions as third base coach (which is the only kind of decision making you can solely judge him on).

It’s also telling that whenever LaRussa was out with shingles, suspended, or thrown out, he placed his bench coach in charge of the team ahead of Oquendo. Some might argue it’s because he doesn’t want to put a base coach in charge, but he’s done it in the past with Rene Lachemann.

Just something to think about. I personally hope they can get Joe Maddon, but I think he has an option with TB and they will want compensation.

Oquendo is generally recognized as a great 3B coach. He recognizes that you need to be agressive most of the time and gets us a lot more runs from his agressiveness than we lose from somebody being thrown out at the plate.

I would say yes, but I think Albert’s #1 guy would be the same as the Cardinals. I’m fairly confident Jose Oquendo will be the next manager. Albert is very close with him and he seems to be the next in line.

That’s not class. Roger Clemens won over 300 games and is near the top of the strikeout charts… is he classy?

It’s success and excellence, which Tony had a lot of.

Tony has a lot of character flaws but I’m sure a lot of people who don’t like him also do. Ultimately, people are going to remember him for being a Hall of Fame Manager, not drunk driving (which is horrible and really inexcusable).

Was he a classy individual? Debatable. He did a lot of things that I personally dislike and found irritating, but other than the drunk driving, I wouldn’t consider anything he’s done classless.

Why should I show respect to a proven drunk driver? I would react the same way if a Cub were to get a DUI, join the Tea Party and make every single baseball game last a bajillion hours. I hate Tony LaRussa, think he’s a huge piece of trash and I know I’m not alone in that opinion.

Yeah but at the end of the day he’ll be in the baseball HOF and all you’ll have is the chlamydia infection you got from a prostitute while working your day job at the Walmart loading dock. Perspective. People make mistakes.

I don’t think it’s classless, but let me put it this way: will people be talking about Derek Lowe’s DUI when he retires? What about Ron Washington’s coke habit? People remember the DUI for Larussa because they don’t like him. He was arrested with a BAC of .08. If he had drank a couple less sips of wine all we would have heard was an embarrassing story about how he fell asleep at a traffic light. Instead it’s “OMG he’s a total alcoholic!!!”. People who still talk about his DUI do so simply because they don’t like him, not because it’s a relevant way of judging him as a human being.

That’s definitely a valid point (although he blew a .09-something when they took him in, so he was a good deal over the limit) and I appreciate you putting it in an eloquent way.

I have always disliked Tony LaRussa for just about every reason possible, and yeah, it does make me more likely to bring up something like his DUI. At the same time, I think it’s stupid to act like he was the greatest guy ever just because he managed in the majors. When Derek Lowe retires I could definitely see making a DUI joke, and the same goes for Ron Washington. They’re people that are in a position to serve as role models and, while lapses in judgement are part of the human condition, I don’t understand why I’m apparently not allowed to consider those mistakes as part of my view of them as a person. He had a great career as a manager, and nobody can ever take that away from him, but that doesn’t mean making a joke about him is out of line.

And I get sick of people saying “They get paid to win so why should they worry about being role models?” As figures who are respected, shouldn’t they take into consideration the fact that things that they do will be imitated? I’m not saying they have to be perfect people all the time, but that’s a gigantic mistake to make when you’re in a role that people look up to. A month after Tony’s DUI, what’s-his-name on the Cards died while driving under the influence; are you REALLY so naïve as to think that Tony’s little incident is completely unrelated? I’m not trying to “make it like he killed someone,” but he easily could have, and that’s why I don’t respect him. If I had proof that guys on the Cubs were drinking and driving I would immediately stop respecting them, too. This isn’t a team rivalry thing, it’s a “this guy seems pretty crappy based on a lot of factors and I don’t like him” thing.

Christ, I didn’t think making a simple joke would open up the flood gates so badly.

I like Ron Washington, for some reason, yet I still make fun of the whole coke thing. It’s just too good to pass up. I’ve had my problems with illicit substances, so it’s even more fun for me!

I don’t like Tony as a person. He’s just awful. I don’t make fun of his DUI because I hate him, I do it because it gives me great jokes such as, “Watch out for TLR, Furcal and Freese on the road tonight.”

Dont judge all Cubs fans like that. Most I cannot stand, but Im in the very limited few that like LaRussa. Think of it this way, LaRussa started the one inning closer. Without LaRussa, Eckersly probably never made the HOF, and Mariano probably aint the greatest closer ever cause hed be expected to pitch 2-3 for every save.

Just because you are not alone, does not mean you are correct. This is one of the greatest minds in the history of the game. I learned a long time ago to not throw someone under the bus because of one mistake. He did it. It was a HUGE mistake. He apologized, faced a judge and has not done it since. I do believe that he deserves some credit for this.

I cheated on my girlfriend once, apologized and I haven’t done it since, do I deserve credit for that? I never said the guy didn’t have a brilliant take on the game of baseball, that fact is indisputable, but I don’t agree that he “deserves credit” for admitting that he put everyone else driving at that time in a lot of danger because he couldn’t get a cab with his millions of dollars.

More time to go drive drunk now and more time to work on that lifetime supply of Just For Men. Regardless of what people say, the guy won 1 steroid fueled championship (at least), and was one of the biggest whiners the game has ever seen.

Hopefully he can direct all of his new time to working on his stray Animal Foundation – you know to help animals rather then people (smug conservative POS).

One of the most dishonest men in baseball I ever came across and yeah he was a good manager, but as a person he is horrible and will get his in the end.

Seeing that he if BFFs with Bruce Springsteen and runs a pretty animal shelters, I’m willing to take him at his word that he was just too stupid to know who Glenn Beck was when he introduced Pujols at that rally.

everyone will think i am crazy for saying this but….i got a gut feeling that Big Mac will be next manager for the cards. why? because him & TLR are very close & i feel that Mark was croomed just for the job. he is very popular with the players & has done an excellent job as hitting coach + the fans in STL love Big Mac regardless of the roids. What him & Sammy did for baseball is priceless they possibley saved the game. All Mark wanted to do was to be the best he could be & he didn’t lie about it either. so think about it Mark McGuire next cards manager!!!!

doesn’t matter if you got experience or not these days look who the White Sox hired & i bet there are a few other managers that never managed before that got their first jobs in majors. expect the unexpected.

I don’t think Big Mac wants to be out there in public that much. I think he’s really comfortable as hitting coach and he enjoys the job. I think he either stays in that position or is back out of the game.

I don’t think he’ll be back because of his young triplets and has said he misses his family. I could see him leaving after this title and going back home to California to raise his kids…but still run his hitting clinic from his home and invite guys out

I would say that depends on if Albert comes back. If he does you still have a good team with a good mix of young and veteran players with their Ace coming back. Pretty much the same team that just won the World Series just with a new manager.

If Albert leaves then I would say it’s more of a transition period. I think no matter what, both teams have a good shot to make the playoffs again next season. The Sox problems are greatly exaggerated. They’re still a good team.

(As a Jays fan) I have to agree that it seems most people are blowing the Red Sox’s problems out of proportion. Much of the time, it seems like wishful thinking. They are a very good team and will certainly contend (again) next year.

I wish him the best. He had an amazing, Hall of Fame caliber career. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying the success he had and there’s no denying his ability to lead a ball club. His philosophies can be maddening but at the end of the day, he found a way to put his team in the best position to win a ball game.

He may want to stay in Tampa but he grew up a Cardinal fan and managing in St. Louis is/was his dream job. Of course he has a great situation in Tampa so maybe he would rather stay there. But, if there’s one team that can pry Maddon away it would be the Cardinals.

All that said……I’m not interested in joining the compensation for managers/GM’s this year. I would rather just find someone available. There are plenty of guys that are or will be great managers to choose from.

Yeah this is a great market for managers. I think Tito would fit in with this club.

Or maybe you guys can take Mackanin so we can have Ryne Sandberg be Charlie’s bench coach/successor. (or you could just take Sandberg for yourselfs and stick it to the Cubs).

Even if they could sway him, would Tampa Bay even let them talk to him? I mean, theoretically, he could just step down and the Rays would get some type of compensation, but I’m really confused on how that would work without being some form of tampering.

Ozzie has no managerial experience, it would be dumb to bring him in. This is a competitive team with or without Pujols, and should they bring Pujols back, a VERY GOOD team with repeat potential. I agree that Ozzie needs to come back to the organization, but I’d much rather see him in a base coach/fielding instructor type role.

As for the rest of this list, I like it with the exception that I would move Sandberg up to at least #3 if not higher. Everything I’ve heard about Sandberg suggests he manages with a great intensity and has been highly respected by his players. Either way, he has to get the nod ahead of Oquendo because he at least has managerial experience… Oquendo is great and well liked in St. Louis, and if this were more of a transitional period, I would agree. But with a team that is set to contend now (and if Pujols re-signs, set to be a playoff powerhouse), I find it hard to justify bringing in a manager with no experience.

Alan Trammell, Snakes’ bench coach and former Cubs bench coach, managed the Tigers in 2003 (worst team in AL history), 2004 and 2005. He was fired amid friction with Pudge Rodriguez. Leyland took over in 2006, Verlander and Joel Zumaya were rookie pitchers, and the team overachieved all the way to the WS.

Trammell is a quiet guy, may have lost the clubhouse on a team that had losing seasons every year from 1993 through 2005. But the Cardinals are the opposite, a winning tradition with veteran leadership. He might fit there and not rock the boat.

He was also criticized in Detroit for over-reliance on small ball, but in the NL that game strategy is more appropriate.

If he is hired maybe he and his buddy Gibson can meet in the 2012 NLCS.

This is St. Louis we shouldn’t be a proving ground for a new manager, go some place else for that, Oquendo is a great guy, but if he wants to be a manager, he should be in the minor leagues some place managing a baseball team. We aren’t a team that is in rebuilding mode, we just won a World Championship (our 11th) 72 hours ago. All our key players will be back, and most likely Pujols for that matter as well, With a healthy Wainwright we will be contenders next season, why should we not hire a manager who’s a proven winner as opposed to a guy who has never managed a game in the major leagues. You want to prove yourself in the major leagues as a manager, go manage the Pirates, Astros, Nationals or Royals then come here. This is the best job out there right now for a manager, Oquendo isn’t entitled to it.

Obviously Madden’s name will come up often, and rightly so. But Oquendo has interviewed for several managerial jobs, and got none of them. I’d rather go with our AAA manager Chris Maloney, than anybody else in the organization, we aren’t a team in rebuilding mode, so we don’t need somebody coming in here and re-doing the way we do things. I can’t stand the thought of Sandberg being our manager, he’s a cub period, good luck selling that to the fans of St. Louis. If there is any inexperienced manager that at all interest me is Ted Simmons, he’s the greatest Cardinal of the 20th century that wasn’t on a championship team, he’s got unfinished business here in STL, but not enough experience to take over a club that should be competing for a division title next season. We’ll see who’s interviewing for the job, but no way should the St. Louis Cardinals, defending World Champions be somebodies first managerial job.

I think La Russa knew the Cards stole game 7 with the bad call. The strike to end the inning turned out a two run inning. You Cards know what I’m talking about,. I think it was the 5th or 6th inning when the ump called a ball and should have been strike three and the third out. Then in the very next inning when TX was at bat, the same pitch in the same area was called a strike.

The baseball I knew as a child is slowly coming apart as long time fixtures like Cox last year and La Russa this year depart. I like how you say it’s surreal because growing up I look in those dugouts and I never ever think “Those guys are going to be gone someday.” Guys like La Russa and Cox were fixtures, foundations even, in baseball for me. And I said that my childhood memories of baseball are coming apart, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I can look back on the legacy that these managers and players have left behind and ten years down the line I can say that I saw it all (or most of it) unfold in front of me. It’s always sad to see your favorite players or managers in baseball leave the game, but where one great career ends, we can always be confident that maybe we’ll be able to witness the start of something great.